How To Control Your Mind And Thoughts

All of us deal with it. Procrastination, self defeating thoughts, maybe even depression. And usually your first plan of action is to reach out for advice, especially if it becomes a troubling habitual process.

Tasks become daunting, thoughts about the tasks and thoughts about yourself or others may decrease progression and cause you to stop enjoying your life.

However, there is a solution. A small easy step that is simple and will leave you wondering why you have been overthinking how to handle the smallest problems in your life.

You will need to make this a natural process for its effects to become habitual. You will need to remain disciplined and engaged for it to work. But, you will be ever so satisfied once you start applying it.

1) A thought enters your mind

This thought may be troubling. It may be a thought that is crippling you from being able to complete the task. That is your mind ruminating again about the past.

Solution:

Identify Negative Thoughts

Every feeling we have is the direct result of something we were thinking. Therefore, if you’re feeling anxious, begin by stepping back for a minute, and ask yourself why you feel that way.

Figure out what that thing is that’s making you anxious and then try to pinpoint what about it is making you anxious.

Did you have a bad experience in a similar situation? Did you receive some bad news? Was it somethin else entirely?

Identify what that root cause is.

Remember that the thing that creates that feeling is usually the vehicle your mind is using to create the emotional state, it is rarely the root cause of the emotional state.

Learn to Stop Your Thoughts

Once you can identify your thoughts it becomes time to learn to stop them.

It’s one of the first things you should learn. How do you stop in the middle of your thoughts?

At various times throughout the day, catch yourself thinking. How are you feeling? What are you thinking about? Why are you thinking about that topic?

I am aware that this is much easier said than done so you might have to find a method that works for you like keeping post-its nearby which tell to stop and think for a moment.

Usually, when you’re feeling frustrated, upset, tired, or angry about something, your tendency will be to “get past” whatever it is that you’re feeling but that’s not a good strategy.

Instead of pressing on, take a few minutes to stop what you’re doing, and think about your thoughts. The next few steps will help.

Become aware of your thoughts. If you read my stuff then you’ll notice that this is recurring theme. Becoming aware of yourself, that includes your body and mind is probably the single most important thing you can ever do.

2) After you’ve pointed the thought out

Your thoughts and bad habits will hide and duck whilst you are rationalizing how they are totally justified, hoping you will not adress them and allow these negatives to finish their “business” which is making your life a living hell.

Solution: Accept the thoughts & bad habits. Accept that you don’t want to finish this project. Accept that you don’t want to go to the gym right now. Accept that you are eating unhealthy and could do better. Acceptance and acknowledging these bad things is the first step to changing them.

3) You’ve now accepted that these things are occurring

You do not try to fight those thoughts and behaviours. You are just pointing it out, and accepting that it exists as a thought in your mind.

Solution: Your mental approach is calm and collected. You do not try to fight the thoughts, as this will inadvertently allow them to gain momentum.

My mentor once said: “The longer you resist the longer it persists” and it took me long enough to figure out how not to resist any longer. Once you manage to do this tho you’ll come to the realization that you’re not your thoughts and this bombardment will go away.

4) Taking back control

Take immediate action to redirect your focus to something else. Do not give yourself a chance to point out how daunting it may be to take that action, make this second nature. You shall see in time how second nature it really does become.

This technique isn’t just used for procrastination. It can applied to almost anything. In this case I told you how to focus on your thoughts in order to detach yourself from them. This will improve your life and it’ll make you confident and self aware.

Closing Thoughts

As I mentioned before being aware in this case aware of what goes through your head is key when you want to master this technique.

I recommend becoming more aware in general and all it takes is to get rid of distractions and focus on yourself, your surroundings, your thoughts etc. Meditation can help with that, taking some time to do breathing exercises (which in a sense is meditation) also helps and I am sure there are other methods as well that will help you to achieve a higher state of self-awareness. I’ll write a piece about that soon enough.

As always thanks for reading and I hope this proves to be useful to you.

-Titus Hauer

P.S. Did you like what you read? Then I highly suggest to take a look at my book SHATTERED you can get it on Amazon.

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